gentile

CEFRC1

/ˈd͡ʒɛntaɪl/

noun · adjective

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    A person who is not Jewish.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    Heathen, pagan.

Examples

  • A gentile gave Esther's family a place to hide during the Nazi occupation of Budapest.

  • The museum features a collection of Jewish and gentile historical artifacts.

At a glance

Sits at C1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
5
Synonyms
4

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meaning

  1. Non-Mormon.

adjective

Extra meanings

  1. Non-Jewish.

  2. Relating to a clan, tribe, or nation; clannish, tribal, national.

More examples

In context

  • The word "gentile" is derived from a Latin translation of the Hebrew word "goy."

  • It is possible to manage without a gentile system. Many ethnoi are divided into tribes and clans.

  • Down in the workshop all the elves were makin' toys For the good gentile girls and the good gentile boys

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The term blank refers to any person who is not Jewish.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

Borrowed from French gentil (“gentile”), from Latin gentīlis (“of or belonging to the same people or nation”), morphologically from gēns (“clan; tribe; people, family”) + adjective suffix -īlis (“-ile”). Doublet of gentle, genteel, jaunty, and Gentoo. See also gens, gender, genus, and generation.